MALAWI.Green Belt Initiative Taking Shape.
By Charles Mpaka
By Charles Mpaka
Let the rains fail, even for several successive seasons, and Malawi should still be able to produce enough to feed itself.
This is the motivation for the country's green belt concept. It is strengthened by painful memories of the severe drought beginning early 2002 which
This is the motivation for the country's green belt concept. It is strengthened by painful memories of the severe drought beginning early 2002 which
triggered three years of hunger. By 2005, five million people were affected by famine, all while large quantities of water flowed out of the country to the
oceans of the world.
Local agriculture experts explain that two districts in the southern tip of the country could feed the entire country all year round if the Shire River,
Local agriculture experts explain that two districts in the southern tip of the country could feed the entire country all year round if the Shire River,
which cuts through the length of this southern plain, was utilised for intensive irrigation farming.
Yet, the two districts, often troubled by floods, are among the most desperately poor in Malawi, and their inhabitants survive on food handouts from
Yet, the two districts, often troubled by floods, are among the most desperately poor in Malawi, and their inhabitants survive on food handouts from
government and donors.
The programme seeks to make Malawi independent of rain-fed agriculture. For all the much-publicised success of subsidies for small-scale farmers over the past four years, Malawi must also thank good rains for the increased production.
The plan is to protect the gains in food security, reduce vulnerability to drought and to boost production still further by irrigating a million hectares of land in a swathe lying within 20 kilometres of the country’s three lakes and 13 perennial rivers.
Last season, Malawi produced 3.5 million tonnes of maize, the country’s staple crop. This is 1.1 million tonnes more than the country's total annual consumption. Of the total harvest, only 300,000 tonnes came from irrigation farming. Irrigation agriculture is presently practiced on just a third of the one million hectares of land earmarked for the green belt programme.
The plan will also attempt to diversify crops, targeting increased production of wheat, rice, millet, cotton, lentils and beans for export. The Lake Malawi-Shire River stretch is the most important in the project. A section of the East African Rift Valley, the watercourse extends a thousand
The plan is to protect the gains in food security, reduce vulnerability to drought and to boost production still further by irrigating a million hectares of land in a swathe lying within 20 kilometres of the country’s three lakes and 13 perennial rivers.
Last season, Malawi produced 3.5 million tonnes of maize, the country’s staple crop. This is 1.1 million tonnes more than the country's total annual consumption. Of the total harvest, only 300,000 tonnes came from irrigation farming. Irrigation agriculture is presently practiced on just a third of the one million hectares of land earmarked for the green belt programme.
The plan will also attempt to diversify crops, targeting increased production of wheat, rice, millet, cotton, lentils and beans for export. The Lake Malawi-Shire River stretch is the most important in the project. A section of the East African Rift Valley, the watercourse extends a thousand
kilometres from the head to the toes of Malawi - from the northernmost point to the southernmost one. Apart from identifying new sites for irrigation, development of the belt will also include restoring infrastructure that has fallen into disuse. In February
2009, government invited bids from construction companies to establish, rehabilitate and manage 12 irrigation schemes as part of the programme.
But what about issues of land, probably one of the most delicate factors in the implementation of the programme?
Much of the land in the designated belt is customary. The deputy minister for agriculture and food security, Margaret Mauwa, says government will not expropriate land."Our interest is particularly on small scale farmers. We will be grouping them and we believe that will help to deal with the problem of land holding through creation of ownership of the irrigations schemes," says Mauwa. The national irrigation policy says that management of the schemes will be the full responsibility of the beneficiaries through their legally constituted local farmer organizations. Through their organisations, the farmers will be encouraged to apply for a lease of the customary land. Alternatively, the farmers may apply to register the land as private land owned by a group of
Much of the land in the designated belt is customary. The deputy minister for agriculture and food security, Margaret Mauwa, says government will not expropriate land."Our interest is particularly on small scale farmers. We will be grouping them and we believe that will help to deal with the problem of land holding through creation of ownership of the irrigations schemes," says Mauwa. The national irrigation policy says that management of the schemes will be the full responsibility of the beneficiaries through their legally constituted local farmer organizations. Through their organisations, the farmers will be encouraged to apply for a lease of the customary land. Alternatively, the farmers may apply to register the land as private land owned by a group of
farmers, says the irrigation bill.
Government will bear the cost of establishing or rehabilitating the schemes prior to turnover. Thereafter, all operations, maintenance and replacement costs in the schemes are to be managed by the farmers themselves."The overall policy for financing irrigation development is that it occurs with minimum government subsidy," reads the national irrigation document.The schemes will be located on public land and government will then hand them over to legally recognised small holder irrigation farmers’ groups, preferably cooperatives or associations.But government will not totally separate itself from the activities in the schemes. Apart from providing agricultural advisors, government will also explore ways of securing credit for farmers through the establishment and growth of savings and credit cooperatives and village banks.